Apple has acknowledged a flaw in certain Apple Watch models that could lead to the screen cracking, and has launched a replacement program for affected users. Apple or authorized service providers will replace the screen on eligible models free of charge.
“Apple has determined that, under very rare circumstances, a crack may form along the rounded edge of the screen in aluminum models of an Apple Watch Series 2 or Series 3,” the company says on its website. “The crack may begin on one side and then may continue around the screen as shown in the images below.”
The program only applies to aluminum Series 2 and 3 watches, including the Nike+ models and cellular variants. The original “Series 0,” the Series 1, and current Series 4 are not covered, and in the case of the Series 3, only models purchased through September 2019 are eligible. That could either mean Apple has fixed the problem in manufacturing or plans to discontinue the Series 3 this month — perhaps at next week’s iPhone event.
Stories of similarly cracked Apple Watch screens aren’t hard to find on social media, though it’s always hard to tell how widespread such issues are. A class action lawsuit in California was thrown out earlier this year for not sufficiently demonstrating the defective design.
Comments
Had this issue on my Boyf’s Series 2 about a month back, they replaced it out of warranty free of charge.
Maybe we were one of the first with the problem.
By Zaitt on 09.02.19 4:08am
I was excited for a moment – my Apple Watch original is still hanging in there, but the screen has a region of black pixels which is slowly expanding. Pretty sure I’m out of warranty.
By Danyal on 09.02.19 5:03am
That’s just typical OLED degradation. I don’t think OLED displays are supposed to last that long.
By Ilia Korvigo on 09.02.19 7:20am
What? I have OLED phones like the Nexus 6 with screens working fine which was released in 2014 compared to the watch in 2015. Also there are plenty of old Samsung phones being used around the world.
By MA2756AM on 09.02.19 8:28am
Working but I wouldn’t say working fine. I have a Nexus 6 in a drawer somewhere and the burn in is atrocious.
By NukedKaltak on 09.02.19 10:43am
Certainly not "a region of black pixels which is slowly expanding" though. That is a flaw. OLED displays last 8-10 years not 4 years. Burn in does not mean the display is degrading, you can get burn in on day one if you have a static image of something for a long time.
By MA2756AM on 09.02.19 10:47am
Great. Had this happen to my Apple Watch about four months ago — Apple wouldn’t replace it without charging basically the price of a new Apple Watch.
By PatientZero on 09.02.19 11:21am
Yep, happened to me last December and they wouldn’t replace it…I call in today and since I didn’t hold onto a watch that had become a piece of trash they wouldn’t assist me.
By William Rayburn on 09.02.19 1:54pm
Did you buy another one?
By dot. on 09.02.19 2:51pm
Yeah, I use it to track my workouts so I couldn’t go without one. They should be giving customers an Apple gift card credit in these instances….deny for months that it’s an issue and then right before it’s discontinued open it up for warranty.
By William Rayburn on 09.02.19 4:01pm
Because the Apple Watch is the only device on earth that can track workouts.
By AndreaB on 09.03.19 5:35am
Oops…
By Popcorn! Smiles! on 09.02.19 1:22pm
"a small percentage of" and "under very rare circumstances", very typical Apple language. LMAO
By rwalle on 09.02.19 6:05pm
can’t think of a single good apple hardware
By aarthopoda on 09.03.19 7:45am
Think harder, then.
By MikeinAustin on 09.03.19 11:16am